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Democrats have cemented their hold on one of Hamilton County's most powerful offices.

For the second straight election, Jim Neil decisively defeated a Republican to win the sheriff's race – this time beating Gary Lee by garnering 61.5 percent of the votes to the former Cincinnati police captain's 38.5 percent.

Neil staved off constant attacks by his opponent to keep the Democrats in control of an office they couldn't crack for nearly four decades before the little-known former deputy sheriff surprised Republicans in 2012. Neil didn't run a particularly aggressive campaign, but he refused to get into the mud-slinging.

"This victory underscores that the many changes we have made in the Sheriff’s Office, the partnerships and collaborations we have created in the community, and the innovative programs we have implemented over the past four years have been recognized and validated by the citizens of Hamilton County," Neil said in a statement. "It also shows that our residents truly do want leadership – not politics – from their sheriff candidates."

Lee attacked Neil for not doing enough to address the heroin epidemic and for releasing non-violent inmates early due to jail overcrowding, a problem former long-time GOP Sheriff Si Leis also faced. Lee also criticized Neil for repeatedly refusing requests to debate.

Neil made his biggest campaign noise back in March, when he ticked off his party leaders by showing up at Donald Trump's rally ahead of the Ohio primary. In a press conference the next day, Neil said it was "selfish" of him to attend the rally for the Republican presidential candidate and the sheriff apologized.

It wasn't an issue again in the campaign. As a Republican, Lee couldn't hold the Trump misstep against the sheriff for fear of losing votes. Neil's initial support for Trump arguably might have helped him shore-up Republican votes. In 2012, it's believed conservative voters helped Neil pull off a surprising win over Republican Sean Donovan, who was Leis' hand-picked successor and raised almost $600,000 more.

Neil again received strong support from Cincinnati's Fraternal Order of Police. The union endorsed Neil for his commitment to supporting collective bargaining for the rank-and-file.

Neil admittedly doesn't like the political aspect of his job, and it's shown in his dealings with commissioners. He's repeatedly butted heads with them over his office's budget.